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Nanomaterial-assisted immunodiagnostic profiling and therapeutic targeting of hepatocellular carcinoma: from molecular biomarkers to clinical applications
Front Immunol. 2025 Oct 14;16:1668630. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1668630. eCollection 2025.
ABSTRACT
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to identify immunologically relevant transcriptomic and proteomic biomarkers in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to characterize their B-cell epitopes for potential integration into nanomaterial-based biosensors and immunomodulatory platforms for early diagnosis and targeted therapy.
METHODS: We conducted a comprehensive multi-omics analysis by integrating transcriptomic (TCGA-LIHC) and proteomic data to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in HCC. Protein-protein interaction networks and pathway enrichment were used to prioritize hub genes. Five candidate biomarkers, RFC2, HSP90AB1, YWHAZ, CYP2E1, and ADH4, were selected for qRT-PCR and serum ELISA validation in clinical cohorts comprising 85 HCC patients and 50 healthy controls. B-cell epitope prediction was performed using BepiPred 2.0 and validated through synthetic peptide-based ELISA in the same cohort to assess immunoreactivity. Diagnostic performance was evaluated using ROC curve analysis.
RESULTS: RFC2, HSP90AB1, and YWHAZ were significantly upregulated (|log2FC|>0.2) and showed high serological expression, whereas CYP2E1 and ADH4 were consistently downregulated. Predicted B-cell epitopes from RFC2, HSP90AB1, and YWHAZ exhibited strong immunoreactivity (AUC>0.84), indicating their diagnostic potential. Enrichment analysis revealed that upregulated DEGs were involved in cell cycle and mitotic progression, while downregulated genes were linked to immune suppression and metabolic dysfunction. These validated immunogenic epitopes offer promising anchors for nanomaterial-functionalized biosensors, such as gold nanoparticle-conjugated ELISA, graphene-based electrochemical platforms, and peptide-coated quantum dots, for ultrasensitive and multiplexed HCC detection.
CONCLUSION: By integrating transcriptomic and proteomic screening with epitope-level validation, we identified a novel panel of immunogenic biomarkers suitable for nanomaterial-enabled diagnostics in HCC. These findings support the translational potential of peptide-nano scaffold conjugates in developing minimally invasive, immune-responsive biosensing and therapeutic tools tailored for early-stage liver cancer management.
PMID:41164201 | PMC:PMC12558944 | DOI:10.3389/fimmu.2025.1668630
Using Large Language Models to Assess the Consistency of Randomized Controlled Trials on AI Interventions With CONSORT-AI: Cross-Sectional Survey
A fully open AI foundation model applied to chest radiography
Nature, Published online: 11 June 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09079-8
Ark+, a fully open artificial intelligence foundation model, demonstrates exceptional capabilities in diagnosing common, rare and novel thoracic diseases.RMethyMD: An integrated platform for exploring RNA methylation in pan-cancer via a multiomics analysis
Cancer Lett. 2025 Jan 12;612:217462. doi: 10.1016/j.canlet.2025.217462. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
A user-friendly integrated database, RMethyMD (http://www.tmliang.cn/rnamethy), was developed to provide a comprehensive analysis of methylation regulators aimed at facilitating the exploration of molecular features in tumorigenesis and clinical implications in cancer diagnosis and treatment via a multiomics approach. Subsequently, molecular landscapes and a robust constructed m6A-based prognostic model using coxBoost + RSF algorithms in lung cancer highlighted m6A as a suitable marker to guide therapeutic strategy. RMethyMD provides a comprehensive resource and multiomics analysis to explore m6A-based prognostic and clinical values, thereby contributing to aiding personalized cancer therapy.
PMID:39809358 | DOI:10.1016/j.canlet.2025.217462
Author Correction: π-HuB: the proteomic navigator of the human body
Nature, Published online: 23 December 2024; doi:10.1038/s41586-024-08555-x
Author Correction: π-HuB: the proteomic navigator of the human bodyKDM5B promotes SMAD4 loss-driven drug resistance through activating DLG1/YAP to induce lipid accumulation in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma
Cell Death Discovery, Published online: 24 May 2024; doi:10.1038/s41420-024-02020-4
KDM5B promotes SMAD4 loss-driven drug resistance through activating DLG1/YAP to induce lipid accumulation in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomaGenome-wide characterization of circulating metabolic biomarkers
Nature, Published online: 06 March 2024; doi:10.1038/s41586-024-07148-y
A meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for 233 circulating metabolites from 33 cohorts reveals more than 400 loci and suggests probable causal genes, providing insights into metabolic pathways and disease aetiology.Scientific discovery in the age of artificial intelligence
Nature, Published online: 02 August 2023; doi:10.1038/s41586-023-06221-2
The advances in artificial intelligence over the past decade are examined, with a discussion on how artificial intelligence systems can aid the scientific process and the central issues that remain despite advances.The trigger for pancreatic disease: NLRP3 inflammasome
Cell Death Discovery, Published online: 14 July 2023; doi:10.1038/s41420-023-01550-7
The trigger for pancreatic disease: NLRP3 inflammasomeZNF655 accelerates progression of pancreatic cancer by promoting the binding of E2F1 and CDK1
Oncogenesis, Published online: 04 August 2022; doi:10.1038/s41389-022-00418-2
ZNF655 accelerates progression of pancreatic cancer by promoting the binding of E2F1 and CDK1